Could Kent lose his bench?Judge may face Congress over abuse allegations

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, October 7, 2007

On Sept. 28, the Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reprimanded Judge Samuel Kent for sexual harassment of one court female employee and mistreatment of others.

On Sept. 28, the Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reprimanded Judge Samuel Kent for sexual harassment of one court female employee and mistreatment of others.

Photo: Kevin Bartram, AP

Could allegations cost Judge Kent his bench?

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GALVESTON — For 17 years, U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent presided like a king over his court in Galveston, using the power of his pen to write sharply worded opinions that struck lawyers and litigants like lightning.

In 1993, he said lawyers offered "half-baked, hair-brained theories" that were "illogical, insupportable, nonsensical and some even extremely outlandish."

In 1996, he ridiculed a request to move a case to Houston: "Defendant will be pleased to discover that the highway is paved and lighted all the way ... (and) free of rustlers, hooligans or vicious varmints."

His words earned the judge a national reputation in law schools and on blogs as a jokester and bully. But it's his behavior in chambers that has landed the jurist in serious trouble today.

Legal experts are asking whether Kent, 58, has gone too far to remain on the bench — and to be credible deciding sexual harassment cases after being publicly accused of the same behavior himself.

The episodes of alleged abuse began a decade ago and involved at least three employees, according to interviews with two women and with attorney Rusty Hardin, who represents the third.

In the most recent incident, the judge was accused of inappropriately touching a female case manager in his chambers in March.

Kent's cases were removed during the investigation, and he received a four-month paid leave of absence as part of his punishment. He continues to draw his $165,000 annual salary.

His accusers have criticized the leave as an undeserved paid vacation.

Kent and his attorney have not responded to repeated requests for interviews.

The harassment complaints against Kent are unprecedented in scope in the federal judiciary and among the most serious faced by any judge disciplined in recent years, according to Marina Angel, a Temple University law professor who authored a national study of sexual harassment among judges in 1991.

No mere scolding

Angel called the possibility that Kent would return to the bench "horrendous."

"Given his pattern that's not enough to let him know that this conduct is totally unacceptable and there's no good reason why he should stop," she said.

Yet a reprimand is considered harsh punishment among federal judges who tend to have a strong sense of importance, said James Alfini, dean of the South Texas College of Law.

"These are people who have been given an extraordinary amount of power and authority and now it's being taken away from them," Alfini said.

As the only federal district judge in Galveston, Kent is the ranking federal official in a small fiefdom. The power of his lifetime appointment is reflected by the fear of attorneys and former court employees, who generally declined comment.

Kent, who grew up in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas law school, spent 15 years at the Galveston offices of the law firm of Royston, Rayzor, Vickery & Williams. He was appointed in 1990 by President George H.W. Bush.

Diverse caseload

Kent has authored more than 800 opinions and presided over countless other cases, many of which involved disputes on the high seas. Admiralty law is his specialty.

Yet he has decided cases as diverse as whether a local tavern owner could legally sell brews as "Star Bocks" — despite a challenge from the soundalike Seattle coffee giant — to sexual harassment claims.

At least 35 of his opinions included the word "sexual harassment." In the most recent, he found against the female plaintiff, who alleged harassment but failed to show up on time for her jury trial. She was initially ordered to pay legal costs for the defendant — as well as the cost of doughnuts and coffee for the jurors. (Later Kent relented and took the doughnuts and coffee off her tab.)

Lori Hood, a Houston attorney who was involved in the defense, said she found Kent to be fair in his handling of the case and other harassment matters.

"He's a brilliant judge who doesn't suffer fools lightly," she said.

Steven Lubet, author of a 2001 article that dissected Kent's bullying style, found Kent to be the undisputed leader among federal jurists in the use of insulting adjectives like "asinine."

Lubet predicted that lawyers representing alleged victims will ask Kent to recuse himself in harassment cases.

'Ethical problems'

In the last six years, there have been signs that Kent's 5th Circuit colleagues were displeased.

In 2001, all cases involving his best friend, attorney Richard Melancon, were reassigned without explanation. In 2002, he was formally rebuked in a 5th Circuit opinion for showing favoritism. In May, he had some cases reassigned again before being ordered to take a leave in August.

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University who clerked at the 5th Circuit, noted that federal judges have limited abilities to discipline a colleague: They can reprimand and reassign cases, but they cannot take away his salary or force him out.

Somin said the public record on Kent's "long history of ethical problems" is significant enough that Congress should look into it.

Thirteen federal judges have been impeached in the history of the United States. The most recent was U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon of Mississippi, who was charged with lying to a grand jury and convicted and removed from office in November 1989.

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